This invention relates to automotive vehicles. More particularly, this invention relates to electric motor driven automotive vehicles.
Most all electric motor driven automotive vehicles include an electric motor for generating mechanical energy and a transmitting mechanism, such as a clutch coupled to a transmission, for transmitting the mechanical energy generated by the motor to the drive shaft of the vehicle. Some types of electric motor driven automotive vehicles receive their electric power from an external source and some other types of electric motor driven automotive vehicles receive their electric power from batteries mounted on the vehicle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,769 there is disclosed a vehicle transmission system in which mechanical energy obtained from an internal combustion engine is connected through a magnetic particle clutch to a gear box which is coupled to the drive shaft of a vehicle. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,121 there is disclosed an automatic transmission control system for an automotive vehicle which includes a plurality of magnetic particle clutches. Other examples of transmission mechanisms employing magnetic clutches include U.S. Pat. No. 2,688,388 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,718,157.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,835 there is disclosed an electric power plant for a land vehicle which includes an electric motor, for turning the drive shaft of the vehicle, two alternators also driven by the motor, a voltage regulator for the alternators and two sets of batteries charged alternately through the regulator. The battery that is not being charged energizes the motor. The alternators are connected to the drive axle of the vehicle. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,017 there is disclosed a battery operated vehicle drive system in which two sets of series connected batteries are alternately charged by an engine driven generator under control of a change-over selector. While one set of batteries is being charged the other set powers a drive motor for vehicle propulsion at a speed controlled by selection of power terminals in each battery set, at different voltage levels, from which the drive motor is energized. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,367,438 there is disclosed a power plant for an automotive vehicle which includes an internal combustion engine and an electric motor which are used alternatively as the motive power source for the vehicle.